The village of Braemar is holding its breath ahead of its biggest day of the year tomorrow.
The annual Braemar Gathering welcomes royalty, celebrities, locals and tourists each autumn – and hopes are high, as always, for a day to remember.
Throughout the day, vans, food trucks and portable loos were transported into the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park, creating a village within a village.
With temperatures soaring to 22 degrees today – and with much the same expected over the weekend – excitement was reaching boiling point in Deeside with less than 24 hours to go.
In the village today, tourists and locals alike have flooded Braemar’s picturesque streets, with staff run off their feet pouring pints and serving fish and chips.
‘A weekend to remember’ for Braemar
The Braemar Pharmacy – which is staffed by locals – knows the importance of the famous games.
Mark Buchan, 34, has been the owner of the pharmacy since 2021 – and says that business has seen an increase with the excitement around the village.
He told the P&J that it’s the biggest day of the year for Braemar.
He said: “It’s been busier today which is normally what we expect moving further towards the games.
“Tomorrow we are expecting to be even more busy, of course.
“Right now there are a lot of tourists coming to the village, and all of the hotels and Airbnb listings are all booked out.
“It really is great for the village. It will be a weekend to remember.”
Weather should hold out for Braemar Gathering
Farquharson’s Bar and Kitchen is a major fixture in Braemar, being based on Invercauld Road, just yards away from where the pipe band is set to march.
Manager Selena Hill, 54, has been serving Gathering attendees for more than 28 years in various different establishments.
She is fully booked for tonight and tomorrow, and said there “is a good vibe in the village”.
“I noticed yesterday that the village was really picking up – of course I think the weather is really helping with that,” she told the P&J.
“Where we are, we are in the midst of the action, we get to take part in it as well.
“Tonight we are rammed, we are 100 per cent booked up.
“We have prepared as much as we can, we are either ready or we are not – we will soon find out. It’s almost impossible to tell.
“It’s Braemar’s biggest day, the weather makes such a difference and we are all looking forward to it.”
Gordon’s cafe head chef to have first taste of Braemar Gathering
Diana Tepozteco, 28, from Mexico, will be experiencing her first ever gathering tomorrow.
Head chef at Gordon’s Tea Room on Mar Road, she only recently moved from London to Deeside for a “quiet life”.
However, Braemar will be anything but quiet when the games kick off tomorrow.
Being her first experience of the games, Diana said she was “very excited”.
She will be serving her famous tacos in the town tomorrow, which she hopes will allow her to “connect with locals” through her delicious native cooking.
She said: “The games is going to be a very good opportunity for me to connect with the locals, which is want I want to do more.
“We get lots of visits here from the tourists – which is amazing – but I would like to cultivate more of that local customer base.
“We are going to start very early tomorrow, there are many things to think about.
“I don’t even know how I am even going to get here because it is going to be so crowded – but it’s gonna be so good.”
Braemar locals enjoy calm before the storm
With large amounts of tourists livening up the village today, it had locals looking for a quiet spot to enjoy a pint.
And bar man Jake Padgett, 26, is more than happy to oblige.
The Invercauld Public Bar, tucked away behind the pipe band route, provided a safe haven for volunteers and workers to gather.
Although, Jake said he doesn’t expect it to stay that way for long.
Jake said: “It has been quite a quiet morning, just because most of the buzz is nearer the park.
“A lot of the locals will of course be working at the games days. This is their chance to go out and unwind just before it all kicks off.
“It will be a very busy day. We have done what we can, we just have to hope that all goes to plan.”
‘Braemar feels like home for me’
Alistair Davidson, 72, could be described as a tourist, after bringing his wife, Carol and friends Vera and Donald Currie up from England to see the famous games.
But it was Alistair’s upbringing in Royal Deeside which sparked his love for them.
Since moving to Gloucestershire at age 10, he has made great effort to return to his birthplace to see the pipe bands.
Speaking to the P&J, he said it’s still his favourite day of the year.
Alistair said: “I was born and bred here.
“I moved down to England when I was 10. But I used to come up to the games every year.
“I love the pipe bands. That’s the main reason that I come up again and again.
“It feels like coming back home.”
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